Week 2 thoughts/observations

Down goes another week so here are some more thoughts/observations:

•    Just like in English, punctuation is important in Afrikaans.  The difference between the word for high school and whore school is an umlaut (hoërskool vs hoerskool).
•    If SA and the US have a food in common, SAs feel theirs is better.  For example, biltong is “like beef jerky but better” and a braai is “like a barbeque but better.”
•    Evan hates chairs.
•    Emily might not be the strongest one here but she outworks all four of us in the gym.
•    The rain lasts the whole time the sun should be up.
•    There are at least two squirrels in Stellenbosch.
•    The kids on the field do more talking to the ref than kids back home.
•    SA doesn’t know what Chick fil A or Five Guys are and that’s a shame.
•    The “tournaments” that we officiate do not have eliminations or a final winner or brackets of any kind.
•    The thing called a “text” is referred to an “SMS.”
•    The gods don’t want Hendrick to test his fitness because the only two times, since I’ve been here, that we scheduled a speed/agility session with Hendrick “wanting to train” with us, rain has fallen from the previous night into the morning. 
•    Our mental preparedness classes will probably be thing that helps my refereeing the most while I’m here.
•    During classroom sessions there is nowhere to hide; we all have to answer questions, make arguments, defend our on-field choices, and be put on the spot but we all leave the session a little better than when we entered.
•    With the high volume of matches available on a weekly basis we can only prevent ourselves from not improving by not setting appropriate goals and learning from our success/failures.
•    With four other people, in the house alone, willing to listen to you talk about rugby there are many opportunities for hearing different perspectives, bouncing ideas, seeking criticism, and keeping sane (being so far from our homes).
•    I’m ready for the hostel league to start that way I’m around players that are about my age.  So far the matches have been youths and high schoolers.
•    These last seven days flew by much faster that first.  Hopefully that trend does not continue because I am really enjoying my time here.